TSMC

The only pro to working here is the pay. And that is only if you were lucky enough to get a high starting salary. If you didn’t, you’re out of luck, as the promotion and merit process is extremely arbitrary.

Aside from the grueling working hours and extreme lack of flexibility, you are subjected to racism on a consistent basis. The Taiwanese “assignee” managers solely focus on hiring and promoting other Taiwanese employees. There have been several rumors that the managers view Americans as sub-par and rate them on a scale from 1-10, 10 meaning what is the equivalent of a Taiwanese worker is, and 1 being a standard American employee. Whether it’s true or not I don’t know, but based on my experience here I would not be surprised. Circling back to the lack of flexibility, forget your personal life because you will not have one. If you value your health, spending time with family, and working for a company that upholds morality and values, do not work here.

They will never take anyone’s advice because they firmly believe they aren’t doing anything wrong. Nothing will ever change.